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Transcript

How Roman Catholicism Altered Church History & Scripture’s Intent – Highlight Episode 351 · The Living Waters Podcast

• 1:04
  Speaker 1: The reason why we address issues like this and why we've discussed Catholicism is because the gospel is at stake Absolutely, and while there are a lot of things that we can agree on in terms of the historicity of Christianity and some of the essential doctrines, especially as it deals with the character of God, the deity of Christ, the triunity of God and so forth, but there are gospel issues when it comes to especially the doctrine of soteriology in terms of how is one saved, and I believe the Catholic church has a different gospel.
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: So the real question is like was Peter really the first Pope?
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: I believe strongly that what happens in the Catholic church is that they apply today's structure into yesterday's church, and so the idea of a singular, authoritative papacy rooted in Peter is historically inaccurate.
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: It's sort of like revisionist history to go back and claim that Peter was the first Pope.
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: And let me make an argument as to why the early church, as a summary and I borrow a lot from church history in plain language, the early church was collegial, not hierarchical.
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: In other words, what ended up happening is, without a doubt, the early church probably looked more like a presbytery that we would see today than it does like a non-denominational church, in the sense that if you looked at Asia Minor, rome, alexandria, what we had is a collection of churches and an established bishop, and that established bishop would help lead those church leaders along the way.
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: And over time, what ended up happening?
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: As Rome gained in power, so did the bishop that sat in Rome would gain not so much power but influence, and we have a lot of examples of like.
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: Clement historically is now considered an early Pope, but we have writings from Clement in which he himself does not claim to have any authority over the church and, as a matter of fact, this is one of the biggest surprises.
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: There's quite a bit of Roman Catholic historians that argue against this revisionist history.
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: Even the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia admits this is a quote.
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: In this early period, bishops and priests were synonymous.
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: Authority belonged to a college of Presbyter bishops.
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: In other words, authority didn't belong to the bishop who was in Rome.
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: Authority belonged to these collection of bishops that oversaw churches in different parts of the world, and so, in other words, we don't historically see a singular Pope figure in the way that we understand it today in those first 300 to 350 years of church history.
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, that's a good point to make, Oscar, and I think there's so much that people just take at face value.
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: And, Ray, one of the things you do and I love that when you're sharing the gospel is you challenge people to look at the word Like one of the things you'll often say, like when it comes to purgatory as an example.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: That's not in the Bible, right?
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they accept that 99% of the time.
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: People say it's not so, it's not Our problem when it comes to witnessing to Catholics or sharing the gospel with Catholics is that they insult tradition above the word of God, like the Pharisees did.
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: Jesus said by your tradition you have made void the word of God.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: So we can feel hogtied if they don't believe anything the Bible says.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: And that's where we've got to go back and trust the power of the gospel and trust the fact that salvation is of the Lord.
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: So when someone says I don't believe the Bible, I just go to the gospel and realize the gospel is the power of God to salvation.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: And when they hear the gospel, god opens the eyes of their understanding and he opens their eyes to his word and the authority of his word, and that's my strong consolation.
• 5:01
  Speaker 4: What I like about this is the best apologetic is Scripture.
• 5:05
  Speaker 4: So when talking to a Catholic or a Mormon or somebody who believes in reincarnation, utilizing Scripture is so important because it's the Word of God that is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword.
• 5:18
  Speaker 4: So William Tyndale is saying, and through his mission to put the text into the common hand, people's life, and even utilizing words that we use today, because of William Tyndale, not only inside the English Bible but inside of the dictionary itself, that he made the Bible.
• 5:35
  Speaker 4: God used him to make the Bible accessible to everybody today.
• 5:42
  Speaker 4: So therefore, there's no question whether or not Jesus said something or intent, or anything it may be, because we can go utilizing the original language and, through great commentaries, understanding culture, customs and tradition, understand what the text originally said.
• 5:58
  Speaker 4: What did the original author mean when he wrote to the original audience?
• 6:02
  Speaker 4: And that's the beautiful thing with Scripture alone, because it is our final authority.
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: Rc Sproul he said the rock of Matthew 16 is the confession that Jesus is the Christ, not Peter himself.
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: Right, so Peter was important, but he wasn't preeminent.
• 6:20
  Speaker 4: As MacArthur said, we don't downgrade Peter for the role that he had.
• 6:26
  Speaker 4: Same thing with Mary Mary she was blessed among women, right?
• 6:30
  Speaker 4: I mean, she bore the Messiah we just don't venerate, we don't bow down, we don't pray too.
• 6:36
  Speaker 4: It's not necessary to do those things, and when we interpret Scripture using Scripture, if you were to do that at face value, you're going to come to this same conclusion.
• 6:47
  Speaker 4: It's only through the teaching of the Catholic Church, through tradition, through some sort of written liturgy that might be out there, that you're gonna come to the conclusion that Peter is a pope, but he never himself would have said that he was the pope ever We've referenced before, that it's not so much what the Catholic Church affirms, it's what they add, right.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: So there's always addition.
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: So to the Bible, they're adding the Apocrypha, to grace, they're adding the sacraments and works.
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: To Jesus, they're adding the saints.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: So there's always an addition and addition, and addition, and ultimately it just and I'd like you to comment on this it takes people's focus off of Jesus, which is where our focus should be, as our Redeemer.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: And I've learned something in the last few years when I've talked to Catholics is that they don't understand the gospel.
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: They understand that Jesus died for our sins, but they don't know what that means.
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: And to substantiate this, to make it clear that they don't understand, I often say to people when they realize they're in big trouble, they're heading for hell.
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: They believe that Jesus died on the cross.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: I say to them what does that mean for you?
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: Now?
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: That happened 2,000 years ago.
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: He died on the cross for our sins.
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: What does that mean?
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: How can it help you in your dilemma?
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: You're under God's wrath, heading for hell, and they don't know.
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: And yet he's on the cross in front of them at the church, the Catholic church.
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: I'm doing a cross here.
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: And they just don't understand it.
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: And I said well, I want you to listen very carefully because this is going to open the eyes of your understanding, understanding the fact that he died for our sins so we could be released from God's wrath by his righteousness that's imputed to us, and it's just.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: Catholics are such fertile ground.
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: You know, I've spoken to hundreds, if not thousands, of Catholics over the years and I've learned when it comes to these issues.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: When someone says I'm a room Catholic, I've learned to hundreds, if not thousands, of Catholics over the years and I've learned when it comes to these issues.
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: When someone says I'm a Roman Catholic, I've learned to go deaf.
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: I deliberately do it.
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: I learned to go deaf, mark, and by that I mean I do not want to get drawn into an argument with them over their church doctrine because they've got scriptures.
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: They can, like we're saying, they can take one text out and say, oh, peter's, the Pope, mary is this, she's exalted, she's the mother of God.
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: I don't want to go in those avenues, no-transcript.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: Martin Luther said the Pope is not, according to divine right, the head of the Christian church.
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: Spurgeon said Christ is the head of the church, not the Pope, nor any other man.
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: Christ needs no vicar or vicar, jc Ryle.
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: The idea of a Pope is utterly foreign to the Bible.
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: There is no trace of it in the New Testament, RC Sproul.
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: There is not one shred of biblical evidence for the office of the papacy.
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: Francis Schaeffer, hierarchy in the church that undermines the authority of Scripture is rebellion.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: Wow, and I'll finish off with John MacArthur Peter was not a pope.
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: The idea of a pope is anti-biblical.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: Christ is the head of the church, not any man, and so we hope you get this.
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: This is just a surface-level treatment of this.
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: We don't have the time to go in depth, but I encourage you believers, examine the scriptures to see if these things are.
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: So Be a Berean and study and read and speak the truth.
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: And for those of you listening who are Catholics, may you turn to Christ and believe the true gospel.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: You have the true Christ now.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: Receive the true gospel that salvation is a gift that is given by God to those who have violated his law.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: If you've stolen once, you're a thief.
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: You've lied once, you're a liar.
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: If you've looked with lust, you're an adulterer.
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: You've used God's name in vain, you're a blasphemer.
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: You've had unjust anger or hatred in your heart, you're guilty of murder.
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: In the sight of God, it's through the death and resurrection of Christ that set you free, but you must come to him in repentance and faith and receive that free gift.
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: Thank you for tuning in to this week's highlights from the Living Waters podcast.
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: Friends, we value your time, so we've created a bite-sized version of our podcast for listeners who want to get equipped without the jokes and fellowship.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: Be sure to check out the full episode every Thursday, where we dive deeper into the topic.
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: Until then, you can watch the full podcast episode available now on livingwaterstv.